116 THK KNTOMOLOGISt's HKCORI). 



and so renders the butterflies elusive to any bird with designs on their 

 lives, although I frankly confess that I have never seen a bird attempt 

 to catch a "blue," or even to chase one. These remarks apply more 

 particularly to the males of Pleheius aetjon, Everes arr/iades, Ai/riades 

 bellarfiiis, J'oli/oiiniiatiia icarxa and Cyanirix seniiarym^, but not to 

 A;/ Hades corydon. There is nothing particularly flickering about the 

 flight of this species, so far as I am acquainted with it ; I should 

 rather call it floppy. I am at a loss to suggest a reason for its distinct 

 style of coloration, except that it, perhaps, more often frequents 

 exposed places where the grass has grown rank, and has been bleached 

 and partly dried by the sun to a sort of general whitish -green hue 

 Avhich the butterfly resembles. All the females of these species have 

 a strong family likeness, although the blue of their respective lords 

 exhibits so much variety, and I think this points undoubtedly to the 

 adoption of the brown colour (again the highest in its series) for pro- 

 tective purposes, to render the sex less conspicuous, which is helped 

 by their more sluggish habits and more lowly flight. In the case of 

 A. hellarijHR I suggest that the blueness of the females in broods which 

 have fed up in cold and inclement springs, may be due to a weakness 

 of that sex, induced by such conditions allowing the influence of the 

 males to predominate, and so by hereditary tendency cause a suS'usion 

 of blue. I understand that " the further south one goes with this 

 species the less blue one gets," and this is due, if my assumption be 

 correct, to the more vigorous conditions of the female under conditions 

 more congenial to their development. I should expect to find also 

 that the males of these southern females are more brilliantly and 

 richly coloured than with us. 



Now with reference to the other species, I know nothing of Laiiipides 

 boeticus and Lycaena an on in a state of nature, but these, with Cirpidn 

 tiiininiioi and Aricia astrarche, are distinguished by the colour resemblance 

 between the sexes, as also is i'elastrina arffiolns to a less extent. An 

 obvious difference in habits characterises the last-named species, and I 

 suggest that the brightness of the blue in both sexes is protective in 

 rendering them less conspicuous as they fly round holly-trees against 

 the sky, and in the habit they have of soaring upw^ards above the holly 

 when disturbed this blueness would also serve them; the colouring of 

 the underside being lighter than the upper, but still blue, is of assist- 

 ance in the soaring, and being then in shadow to a large extent is brought 

 more into correspondence with the tint of the upperside ; it also helps 

 to render them inconspicuous when at rest in the bush. In the case 

 of Cupido miniwa, which is a feeble flier, the dingy colour of both sexes 

 is probably their best protection, but I am afraid I cannot suggest any 

 reason for the striking coloration of Aricia astrarc/ie. 



The colour scheme of the underside is wonderfully similar in all 

 the species, and seeing that all but one — I think aryiolus is the only 

 exception^ — rest or roost amongst grass and herbage, it must be 

 admitted that the greyish or brownish ground colour, broken up by 

 spots and splashes of lighter or darker tints, is admirably adapted to 

 render them inconspicuous amongst the heads of the flowers or seeds 

 of plantains, grasses, nishes and other plants which usually grow in 

 the places they frequent. In the note by Mr. Colthrup above referred 

 to he stated that the birds were picking oft' the male A. corydon only, 

 S,nd that he fouiad the females " much more difficult to see." It struck 



